Arkansas State Agricultural Business (Bachelor's): Tuition, Graduate Salary, and Debt
- Bachelor's in Agricultural Business and Management
- Public university
- Jonesboro, AR
- About 44 graduates a year
College Scorecard June 2026 release · BLS wages May 2025
The short answer
Arkansas State agricultural business graduates earn less than graduates of most agricultural business programs nationally, $43,804 in their first year. Debt is high. The typical graduate leaves with $22,239 in federal loans, more than at 78% of agricultural business programs in the country. Two other Arkansas programs report higher pay.
How it compares
Each figure is the median for graduates of the program. The Arkansas and national columns are the medians across all agricultural business bachelor's programs that report the figure.
Five years out, Arkansas State graduates earn less than the national figure but about $4,405 more than the Arkansas median.
Debt and first-year pay at every Arkansas agricultural business program
Programs in the upper left give graduates higher pay for less debt. Dashed lines mark the Arkansas medians.
Hover over or tap a dot to see the school. Only programs that report both earnings and debt are shown.
What graduates earn over time
Pay rises about 35% between the first and fifth year.
Year 1 and year 5 figures come from different graduating classes, so the growth rate is an estimate.
Does family income change the outcome?
Graduates who received Pell Grants, which go to students from lower-income families, earned $2,433 less in their first year than other graduates. Students who expect to rely on grants should weigh this gap.
Paying back the loans
On a standard 10-year plan, the median debt means a payment of about $236 a month, or 6.5% of a graduate's typical monthly pay in the first year.
The government publishes these as ranges to protect privacy. They were measured in 2018 to 2020, partly during the pandemic pause on federal loan payments, so the forbearance share may be higher than usual.
Where graduates work, and what the pay is worth
84% of graduates (49 of 58) were working in Arkansas one year after graduating. Prices in the Jonesboro area are about 14% below the national average, so a $43,804 salary here buys what about $51,008 buys in a typical US city.
Careers this field leads to
These are the jobs that the federal crosswalk from fields of study to occupations links to agricultural business, largest first. Pay is the median across all experience levels.
First-Line Supervisors of Office and Administrative Support Workers
$58,100Median pay in Arkansas. 13,630 people work in this job in Arkansas. Nationally, jobs are projected to stay about the same in number from 2025 to 2035, with about 127,400 openings a year. Typical education to start: high school diploma or equivalent, plus less than 5 years of related work experience.
Sales Representatives, Wholesale and Manufacturing, Except Technical and Scientific Products
$55,120Median pay in Arkansas. 12,740 people work in this job in Arkansas. Nationally, jobs are projected to shrink 1% from 2025 to 2035, with about 99,800 openings a year. Typical education to start: high school diploma or equivalent.
Computer User Support Specialists
$46,360Median pay in Arkansas. 4,390 people work in this job in Arkansas. Nationally, jobs are projected to shrink 4% from 2025 to 2035, with about 39,700 openings a year. Typical education to start: some college, no degree.
Buyers and Purchasing Agents
$75,870Median pay in Arkansas. 4,510 people work in this job in Arkansas. Nationally, jobs are projected to grow 6% from 2025 to 2035, with about 47,200 openings a year. Typical education to start: bachelor's degree.
About Arkansas State
Agricultural Business ranks 9th of 28 bachelor's programs at Arkansas State by first-year earnings. The top three are Mechanical Engineering ($74,284), Nursing ($73,423), and Diagnostic and Treatment Professions ($60,202).
Common questions
The median graduate earns $43,804 one year after graduating and $59,051 five years after. The median across agricultural business bachelor's programs in Arkansas is $42,565.
The median federal loan balance is $22,239, which ranks 5th lowest of 5 agricultural business bachelor's programs in Arkansas. That works out to about $236 a month over 10 years.
It depends on your other options. Debt equals 51% of first-year earnings, against a national median of 40%. Compare the cost with other Arkansas programs before deciding.
Most do. 84% (49 of 58) were working in Arkansas one year after graduating.
About this data
- Earnings and debt only include students who received federal financial aid (grants or loans).
- Earnings only count graduates who were working and not enrolled in more school. Graduates who went straight to further study are not included.
- Debt only includes federal loans. Private loans and credit cards are not counted.
- Some schools with several campuses report one combined figure for all of them. We count each of those schools once, and leave them out of Arkansas comparisons when their main campus is in another state.
- Scorecard figures describe graduating classes from several years ago. BLS wages are from May 2025.
- School-level numbers like tuition, admission rate, and graduation rate are for the whole school, not the agricultural business program.
Sources
- U.S. Department of Education, College Scorecard, field of study and institution files, June 2026 release
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025
- Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025 to 2035
- Bureau of Economic Analysis, Regional Price Parities, 2024
- NCES, CIP 2020 to SOC 2018 crosswalk, and IPEDS institution directory, 2024